diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 889fd38..8d58e11 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ dist/
 downloads/
 eggs/
 .eggs/
-lib/
+/lib/
 lib64/
 parts/
 sdist/
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/api.ts b/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f29138e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+import axios from 'axios';
+
+export const api = axios.create({
+    baseURL: '/api', // Proxy in vite.config.ts handles this
+    headers: {
+        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+    },
+});
+
+// Request interceptor to add JWT token
+api.interceptors.request.use(
+    (config) => {
+        const token = localStorage.getItem('access_token');
+        if (token) {
+            config.headers.Authorization = `Bearer ${token}`;
+        }
+        return config;
+    },
+    (error) => Promise.reject(error)
+);
+
+// Response interceptor for error handling
+api.interceptors.response.use(
+    (response) => response,
+    (error) => {
+        // Handle 401 (Unauthorized) globally - clear token
+        if (error.response?.status === 401) {
+            localStorage.removeItem('access_token');
+        }
+        return Promise.reject(error);
+    }
+);
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/utils.ts b/frontend/src/lib/utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e644794
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+import { type ClassValue, clsx } from "clsx";
+import { twMerge } from "tailwind-merge";
+
+export function cn(...inputs: ClassValue[]) {
+    return twMerge(clsx(inputs));
+}